Portable laminator

ABSTRACT

A portable laminator designed primarily for home use where the laminator includes a handle for carrying which may also act as a guide for articles being fed into the laminator. In alternate embodiments, the laminator includes a cover which may first position acts as a guide for material being fed into the laminator and in a second position acts as a cover for the laminators feed slot. In additional embodiments, the laminator includes a double walled housing to provide insulation from the heating elements.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No.60/641,232, filed on Jan. 3, 2005.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to office laminating machines or laminators. Morespecifically, this application relates to portable laminators designedfor home use.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Small laminators for office use are well known in the Office EquipmentIndustry. Generally, the units are approximately the size of atypewriter, and include a housing design to sit on a countertop,desktop, or other horizontal surface. The laminators of the prior artare intended to remain in one place once installed, and are not designedfor portability or storage if used infrequently.

The laminators are generally positioned horizontally, and include afaceplate which faces the user when the laminator is positioned for use.The faceplate includes a horizontal feed slot, where a user inserts thearticle to be laminated. Prior to insertion, the user places the articlebetween two plastic films. Inside the feed slot is a conveyingmechanism, usually a pair of rollers, which grab the article and conveythe article into the heater. There, the heater subjects the films toheat from a heating plate or other heating element, thereby fusing theplastic films to one another about the perimeter of the article as thearticle passes by, resulting in a laminated article. The laminatedarticle is then conveyed out the feed slot where it is retrieved by theuser. In some embodiments in the prior art, the laminated article isconveyed through a separate output slot instead of going back throughthe feed slot. In other embodiments, well known in the prior art, theuser need not place the article between the films, as the laminatorincludes mechanisms to place the article between two films.

Because the heating elements generate high temperatures to fuse theplastic films, the outside of the laminator housing, particularly thearea in closest proximity to the heating elements can become hot to thetouch. To limit the heating of the housing exposed to the user, thehousing of the present invention includes an air gap or channel, tolimit the conduction of heat from the heating elements to the outerhousing of the laminator. The air gap is created by using two housingsisolate the heating elements from the user.

Additionally, the laminators of the prior art are not designed forportability or ease of storage. The feed slots do not include a cover orother structure as part of the housing, thereby leaving the feed slotopen to the environment when the laminator is not in use. This exposureallows dust and other debris to enter the feed slot, contaminating thefilms and mechanisms within the housing. Since the laminators of theprior art are not designed to be moved from place to place, they do notinclude a carrying handle or structure to store the power cord.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The laminator described herein includes features to provide ease ofportability and storage as well as advantages when the laminator is inuse, such as a deployable feed tray and a cool to the touch housing.Such advantages are not only beneficial for a home user, but are alsoadvantageous for office situations where the laminator is infrequentlyused. Additionally, the features are applicable to other portabledevices which include a feed slot, such as printers and shredders.Additionally, the double walled housing or air gap can be applicable tonon-portable, heat generating office equipment.

The housing includes a handle positioned below the feed slot. A dustcover is hingedly attached to the housing between the handle and thefeed slot. This positioning allows the handle to support the dust coverwhen the dust cover is in the down position exposing the feed slot. Inthe down position, the dust cover forms a feed tray to help guide thearticle to be laminated into and out of the feed slot. In the closedposition, the dust cover is positioned up against the housing so as tocover the feed slot and prevent dust and other debris from entering thefeed slot, particularly when the laminator is stored in an upright orvertical position.

To aid in storing the laminator, the housing includes protrusions on theback plate on which to wrap the power cord when not in use. Theprotrusions are positioned on the back plate in an arrangement to formlegs to allow the laminator to be stored in an upright position.

To produce a cool to the touch outer cover, the outer cover of thelaminator is separated from an inner housing by an air gap. The use of adouble housing to separate the heating elements from the user creates anouter housing that is cooler than a single walled model. In someembodiments, the outer cover may include posts or ribs to contact theinner housing in select places. The post or ribs maintain the spacebetween the cover and inner housing, and may additionally providestrength to the outer or inner cover. The ribs can be arranged toprovide air channels or compartmentalize the air gap, and providespecific pathways for air to flow between the cover and inner housing.To improve air flow, a fan may be positioned to force air to movethrough the air gap. In other embodiments, the space between the coverand inner housing can include insulation or other material to limit theconduction of heat to the outer cover.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of the laminator showing the cover in aclosed position.

FIG. 2 is a top perspective view of the laminator showing the cover inan open position.

FIG. 3 is a partial cut away view of the laminator.

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the housing.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the laminator.

FIG. 6 is a back view of the laminator.

FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the laminator.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The laminator 10 includes a case 15 including a handle 16. The case 15includes a base 18 and a top 19. Both the base 18 and the top 19 includevents 20 to allow the circulation of the air into the case 10, to coolthe mechanical and electrical components of the laminator 10. When inuse, the base 18 rests on a counter or other horizontal surface.

The case 15 is shaped to include a generally flat bottom portion forresting upon a counter, a generally flat back portion, which includeprotrusions to act as feet and to wrap the power cord around, and agenerally flat front portion which includes a handle. The top side ofthe case includes two arcuate end portions linked by a generallystraight and planar middle portion.

The base 18 and top 19 are fastened together with screws or otherfasteners to form a housing 25 having a chamber for securing andcontaining the operating mechanisms of the laminator 10. The housing 25includes the handle 16, preferably formed as an integral part thereof.The handle 16 can assume many orientations, but it is preferablyparallel to the feed slot 28. In the preferred embodiment the handle isfixed in orientation and includes an aperture 17 for the user to gripwhen carrying.

The handle 16 is located below the feed slot 28 when the laminator isresting upon the base member 18, as positioned when in use. A handle 16can act as a guide or support for material entering the feed slot, ifthe top surface 9, of the handle 16 is approximately even or slightlyhigher than the feed slot 28. Optionally, a cover 30 is hingedlyattached to the housing 25 between the feed slot 28 and the handle 16.The cover 30 is adapted to maintain a first position 21 to form a guidefor material being fed into the laminator 10 for lamination. In thefirst position 21, the cover 30 rests upon the handle 16. In a secondposition 22, the cover 30 rests upon the housing 25 so as to cover thefeed slot 28. The second position 22 is of benefit when the laminator 10is stored in an upright position with the feed slot 28 perpendicular tothe ground, the cover then covering the feed slot 28 to prevent debrisand other items from falling and entering the laminator 10 through thefeed slot 28.

The case 15 further includes an outer housing 40 placed over the top 19and secured with fasteners 42. The outer housing 40 is positioned so asto maintain an air gap 50 between substantial portions of the outerhousing 40 and top 19. To aid in maintaining the gap, ribs 55 arepresent on the underside of the outer housing 40. The ribs 55 also lendsupport in maintaining the shape of the outer housing 40. The ribs 55can be judiciously arranged to form air channels 52 to direct the airthrough the air gap 50. A fan (not shown) may be placed incommunications with the air channels 52 to improve the flow of airthrough the air gap 50. A power switch 60 is located in a recess 61 onthe outer housing 40.

The back plate 65 includes an exit slot 80 where the laminated articleexits the laminator when the laminator 10 is stored in an uprightposition, the exit slot 80 faces the ground, and does not fully benefitfrom a cover, as debris generally does not flow upwards. However, oneskilled in the art will recognize that a cover, similar to the hingedcover described above could be applied to the exit slot 80. In such anarrangement, the protrusions 67 would include stops to hold the cover ina position to guide the laminated article as it exits the exit slot 80.

The case 15 includes protrusions on the back plate 65 of the housing 25.The back plate 65 is opposite the feed slot 28. The protrusions 67 arepositioned to act as feet and support the case 15 in an upright positionwhen the laminator 10 is stored. In the most preferred embodiment, theprotrusions 67 extend away from the back plate 65 at least ½ inch. Theprotrusions further include tabs 68 extending away from the protrusions67, but not so far to exceed the extended perimeter of the case 15. Thetabs 68 act as a base to support the case 15 in an upright position, andserve to retain the power cord when the power cord is wrapped around theprotrusions for storage. One skilled in the art will recognize theprotrusions 67 can take on many configurations and number, so long asthey permit the case 15 to stand upright, that is with the back plate 65parallel to the supporting surface.

In the most preferred embodiment, the protrusions are at least two innumber and include a base portion generally parallel to the back plate65, the base portion being attached to the back plate 65 by a supportportion. The support portion may be a single tubular structure, or maybe a plurality of posts or other members linking the base number to theback plate. The base member is shaped to include an arcuate portiongenerally striking an arc similar to the arcuate portion of the case.One skilled in the art will recognize the base portion need not assumethis structure. The support portion is generally narrower than the baseportion, to allow room for a power cord to be wrapped between and aboutthe support portions of the protrusions. In such a way, the laminatormay be stored upright on the base portions while the power cord iswrapped about the protrusions and not interfering with the storage. Inthe preferred embodiment, the base portion includes a first straightportion generally perpendicular to the ground and a second straightportion parallel to the ground and two portions joined at a vertex.Opposite the vertex, is an arced portion generally maintaining an arcsimilar to the arc of the housing.

The embodiments described herein are merely illustrative, and are notmeant to limit the scope of the invention.

1. A laminator including: a housing containing heating elements; a feedslot for feeding material in the heating elements; a cover hinged to thehousing, the cover having a first position to form a guide for thematerial being fed into the feed slot and a second position to cover thefeed slot; and further including a handle located adjacent the feedslot, the handle supporting the cover when the cover is in the firstposition.
 2. The laminator of claim 1, further including an outerhousing, the outer housing separated from the housing by an air gap. 3.The laminator of claim 2, further including ribs between the housing andthe outer housing, the ribs maintaining the air gap between thehousings.
 4. The laminator of claim 1, wherein the laminator includes:an exit slot, and a second cover hinged to the housing, the second coverhaving a first position to cover the exit slot, and a second position toguide material exiting the exit slot; a handle adjacent to the feedslot, the handle supporting the cover wherein the cover is in the firstposition; and an outer housing, the outer housing separated from thehousing by an air gap.
 5. The laminator of claim 4, the laminator havinga back plate opposite the feed slot, the back plate including feet tosupport the laminator when the laminator is placed upright.
 6. Thelaminator of claim 5, the feet including a base portion attached to theback plate by a support portion, the support portion being narrower thanthe base portion, the base portion extending away from the supportportion.
 7. A laminator including: a housing containing heatingelements; a feed slot in the housing for feeding material into thelaminator; a handle fixed in position adjacent the feed slot; a secondhousing, the second housing separated from the housing to create an airgap; and a cover attached to the housing wherein the cover has a firstposition to guide material into the feed slot and a second position tocover the feed slot, the cover resting upon the handle when in the firstposition.
 8. The laminator of claim 7, wherein an outer housing ispositioned over a portion of the first housing, an air gap being presentbetween the two housings.